On May 12th, McKeon Stone was represented by James McKeon and Niall Kavanagh when Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, visited Glasnevin Cemetery as part of their four-day official visit to Ireland. At the cemetery, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visited the Cross of Sacrifice where they unveiled a new memorial to the four Irish soldiers who were awarded the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest award for gallantry, in 1917.

The Victoria Cross Stones

The four soldiers, Corporal John Cunningham, Company Sergeant Major Robert Hill Hanna, Lieutenant Frederick Maurice Watson Harvey and Private Michael James O’Rourke, are represented by four paving stones, each inscribed with the name and a representation of the Victoria Cross medal.

The Cross of Sacrifice – Monumental Limestone

HRH Prince Charles in conversation with James Mc Keon and Niall Kavanagh

The Cross is carved from monumental limestone inset with a bronze sword. McKeon Stone quarried blocks from their Three Castle Quarry and crafted the Cross in their Stradbally stone yard. This was erected in Glasnevin by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in cooperation with the Glasnevin Trust. It was dedicated on July 31st, 2014 in a ceremony led by President Higgins and HRH The Duke of Kent. Similar crosses can be found in cemeteries across the world, wherever Commonwealth war dead are buried.

Laying a Wreath in Memory of 1916

In addition to the Victoria Cross memorial, during their visit to Glasnevin the royal couple paid tribute at the necrology wall to the nearly five hundred Irish and British people who lost their lives in the 1916 Easter Rising. The granite panels and lettering were supplied by James Mc Keon of Stonesource.